can anyone please describe in the simplest terms , step by step , how to simply install Mint 15 on a Lenovo y580 ( bypassing all the issues regarding secure boot and UEIF ) ? the reason i ask is that my old Lenovo laptop ( running Mint 12 ) is on it's last legs ( screen & logic board are going fast ) , and all my files & data are all in Mint. so , im planning to do a complete back-up , and then move over to this newer Lenovo y580 Laptop running Mint 15 Cinnamon (64bit). any help / advice truly appreciated , thanks much all !

Last edited by cheZ on Mon Oct 21, 2013 1:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.

I'm using Mint 14, 64-bit, on my Y580, installed it earlier around January this year. I thought I'd share my experience here to help out those with installation problems.

There seems to be some variation in the Y580 hardware being sold, so certain things might not be applicable to your case. I'll just state my experience on installation, plus a few extra things that needs to be done post-installation.

Pre-installationThe first issue is the partitions on the disk drive. The Y580 comes with a HDD with four partitions, which means it has maxed out.

So, if you're doing dual boot like me, you'll need to wipe one partition, resize, set it as an extended partition and re-split it into more partition as you deem fit in ext4. You can use GParted, the disk partitioning tool, included in the Mint live desktop.

For me, I think it is not advisable to wipe the whole disk, mainly because of Lenovo's proprietary utilities that controls the laptop hardware. Unfortunately, one such useful utility that linux does not have an equivalent is laptop battery power management (I did some searching, but couldn't find a working battery power charge augmentation solution. I'll be glad to change this if someone can point me in some direction).

You can set your battery's maximum charge to be 60% via Lenovo's "Battery Protection Mode". This power charge level will stay even when you boot into Mint.

If the battery is constantly at 100% charge due to consistent power supply, the battery life will be affected negatively. The Lithium Ion battery life will get seriously affected at extreme ends of charge capacity, mainly 100% and near 0%. If it really does reach zero, it'll be dead.

I chose to tinker with the LENOVO partition, so I copied out the LENOVO partition, and put it in an external disk. I then do my partitioning, then created back the ntfs LENOVO partition in the extended partition.

InstallationFor me the most challenging thing about installation is the ethernet card that doesn't work, wireless doesn't work too, so you couldn't update your software.

This should make your ethernet work, and then you can get your wireless driver from updates with a working ethernet connection. (you need the interwebz from a ethernet cable!) (I forgot about how I got wireless here.)

Do not use the b43-fwcutter package, those are for other versions of the network card.

This should settle the basic installation.

*Note: you have to redo the ethernet controller driver installation, and wireless network controller install again after rebooting, as you've only installed into the live desktop for Mint installation.

The other problems now is probably battery life, we'll first look at the hybrid graphics problem. All linux distros can't deal properly with hybrid graphics. The hybrid graphics card will turn on your powerful card by default, draining your battery life.

I remember doing a lot of extra unneeded installation steps, so I'll skip the details (I can't remember them too). It should work when you just install bumblebee, in addition to one final step below.

Note: bumbleed switches off your nvidia card during boot, and uses the less-energy intensive intel graphics. The only thing you should take note about, is running graphics intensive programs. There are two ways (both running commands from terminal):1. through "optirun" command using virtualgl, or2. "primusrun" using primus which is experimental

Installing bumblebee wasn't that much of a pain as it did back before the new bumblebee project is reborned. However, there is a quirk with Mint 14, that you have to edit some files to let the bumblebeed daemon run at startup.Here's the bug issue with a solution: https://github.com/Bumblebee-Project/Bumblebee/issues/337

start on (login-session-start or desktop-session-start)stop on (desktop-shutdown)

After bumblebeed was setup properly, my battery life went from a meagre less than 2 hours, to about 4 hours on Low LCD brightness.And the next step on CPU clockspeed pushed my battery life to more than 6 hours, on low LCD brightness.

CPU ClockspeedThis is the easy part, but there are lots of information out there I had to filter through to get here.You only need to install indicator-cpufeq from synaptic, should come installed with cpufreqd, and cpufrequtils as well.

hi Vken ~ great post ! i am reading thru all your points carefully so i can apply to my own install ( although im waiting on the release of Mint 15 before i attempt ). since i plan to only run Linux ( wipe Windows completely , no dual boot ) , and to also swap out the stock 1TB HDD and the 32gb msata on my y580 , and replace the HDD with a Samsung 840 512gb SSD , and replace the 32gb msata with an Intel 256gb msata ( installing Mint 15 on the 256gb msata , using the Samsung 512gb SSD for storage ) , im quite sure i will have some questions regarding the battery issues you mentioned , and the possibility of losing any of Lenovo's proprietary utilities that controls the laptop hardware. please let me know if you might have any thoughts on this. thanks again for the informative post , much appreciated !!

Since you're not touching windoze, most of your problems will go away.

The only real issue that you might encounter is the boot. I had problems trying to install Ubuntu at first. The screen shows me some UEFI crap. It turns out that Y580 hardware is UEFI-compatible, whatever that means. I don't like the idea of some tom-dick-and-harry doing the "certification" and restriction of the OS I'm going to install by giving me a signed key. They essentially are holding my laptop hardware hostage through this "certification". I got Mint installed without hitches, so I'm not inclined to look into the UEFI issue too much.

mSATAI've tried looking into the mSATA installation. My Y580 doesn't come with mSATA drive so I'm not so sure.I'm contemplating to get a Mushkin mSATA to install.

There seems to be a problem with windoze(7 and 8 ) install: people complaining that the installation couldn't detect the mSATA properly when other drives are attached. The solution, apparently, is to remove other drives and leave only the mSATA inside for OS installation.

There seems to be less complaints with mSATA if you're just wiping and installing Mint.Again, I haven't tried, so don't take my word for it.

I'll update my post when I do install an mSATA. Maybe you can report back your experience when when you do the install as well.

hi Vken ~ absolutely yes , i am planning to write about each step of the process of doing this y580 Mint 15 install once the new hardware i ordered gets here ( Intel 525 256gb mSata / 16gb Ram upgrade / Samsung 840 2.5" SSD Drive ). figure that once these arrive in a couple of weeks ( i purchased all components from ebay so all are on the way ) , there will be a better idea / indication of when the official Mint 15 Olivia release will be available. im still researching many aspects as well , and speaking to a few others who have gone this route ( like yourself ) , hoping to gain some insight into any issues i may encounter , and if there are possibly any work-arounds. luckily my older Lenovo y410 ( running Mint 11 Katya ) is still working ( i just replaced the heat-sink and fan assembly ), so if i mess up with the y580 i still have a machine that is functional in the meantime , i would like to mention another kind soul who has been enormously helpful , very encouraging and truly supportive , and who has a most excellent Blog regarding all things Liinux ...and who focuses much on solutions involving Linux Mint and also the Lenovo y580 ( he uses this as his own personal setup ) for any others out there who are checking into or considering this , here is his link to his excellent blog ; http://orkultus.wordpress.com/ , http://orkultus.wordpress.com/about/ . he has taken the time to respond to me and to shed light on many important aspects , and speaks most informatively about how to install Mint on a y580 , and also , how to set up a dual boot ( Linux Mint & Windows ) system on a Lenovo y580. on the UEFI issue that you mentioned , i think i have read about a quick and somewhat easy workaround regarding changing the settings in BIOS on the y580 , and since you have brought it up , and since it is one of the first things to consider for this install on a y580, i will double-check and post any info i find about that here. once again , a very sincere and enthusiastic thank you for your truly informative posts , they are invaluable to those of us who are also choosing this path. i will be posting again very soon !

You're welcomed cheZ, and thanks for the link to Orkultus's blog. How I wished I had found it earlier as I was twiddling with all those issues. I only happen to chance upon it as I was recounting my experience to write my account above.

After reading the about page of Chuck's(Orkultus) site mentioning right-click problems, It should be noted as well, that the touchpad is incredibly sensitive, when I was doing some partition resizing with GParted Live CD. Just touching your finger and not moving, the cursor on screen actually vibrates. I'm attributing this to old device drivers, though I haven't experience this with Mint.

The touchpad clicking is too sensitive, and I gave up clicking via depressing the keys. Instead, I use tap gesture to click, two-finger tap to right click. This also means I've sidestepped the right-click problem all together, and wasn't really aware of it.

thanks for that TouchPad info Vken , sounds like something one definitely should be aware of when doing a Mint install on this particular machine , as i think this ( TouchPad controls ) might possibly relate to Lenovo's hardware utility bundle that controls aspects of the y580 laptop hardware , and resides on the stock HDD that come with the machine ( if one might be considering wiping the stock HDD ). posting a few links i found related to the upcoming Mint 15 Olivia release if anyone else might be interested :http://ip-pig.com/2013/04/05/new-features-coming-in-linux-mint-15-olivia/

just in-case this may help someone else out , and since i was ...upon much asking of advice & researching , eventually quite successful , i thought i would detail my experience here ( note , this is essentially for those who are discarding Windows altogether , and will be setting up and running MINT 15 ONLY on a Lenovo y580 Laptop );firstly , since i like many others was having difficulties getting a Mint Olivia Live CD / DVD to boot on my new Lenovo y580 ( which was running Windows 7 ) , i wasted 4 dvds and none seem to work for whatever reason ...so this is what i ended up doing to finally get Mint 15 installed.First thing to do on a Lenovo y580 running Windows 7 or 8 is to make sure that you DO NOT have the battery saver engaged in the Windows / Lenovo Power Management settings ; this will create battery problems in Linux as this setting is part of the Lenovo utilities and once it is set it becomes impossible to re-set it once Linux Mint is installed , so make sure to turn off battery saver in Windows /Lenovo Power Management so that you can then completely charge the Lenovo y580 battery to a full 100 percent before installing Linux Mint.On my new Lenovo y580 using Windows 7 that came pre-installed , i downloaded the latest Mint 15 Olivia iso ( Cinnamon 64bit with all codecs ) onto the Windows 7 desktop. i inserted an empty 4gb USB Flash Drive ( formatted in Fat32 ) into the y580 , then ( still using Windows 7 ) , i downloaded and installed Unetbootin onto Windows 7. running Unetbootin ( followed these instructions : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxL68ewkdrw ) , i then burned/ copied a bootable Mint 15 onto the USB Flash Drive. then , i shut down y580 and removed the USB Flash Drive.Next ; i restarted the Lenovo y580 , and , since the Lenovo y580 has both a main HD & an mSata drive for HDD cache , i ran 'RapidTool.exe' located on the Lenovo partition in the 'drivers\RapidDrive\Tools\' folder. (you need to do this if your y580 system came pre-installed with an mSATA. This tool will separate your mSATA SSD from your HDD so that they will be seen as two separate disks). Turn off notebook.Then ( and this applies to swapping out / replacing the stock 1tb HDD & stock 32gb mSata ) , first un-plug & remove the battery of y580 , and then open bottom cover of Lenovo y580 by removing the two screws and sliding out the cover ( wear anti-static bracelet or touch a piece of metal to avoid any static charge when working inside the computer ). then , remove the stock mSata SSD ( sits alongside the stock HDD ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ7Oejv920I ) by unscrewing the very small single screw and gently pulling out the mSata SSD card. (this of course only applies if your notebook came with a pre-installed mSATA, as mine did).Next , install your new mSata SSD drive card ( in my case an Intel 256gb mSata )and make sure to put back the tiny single retainer screw that holds down the mSata ... it should sit flat once your replace the small screw after you have plugged the mSata card into the slot. Next ( this applies if you want , as i did , to install MINT 15 onto the mSata and to use as the main drive with OS ) , remove the stock 1tb HDD by removing 2 small retainer screws that hold the HDD caddy in place , then gently push the HDD away from it's leading contact edge where it is plugged in ( gently use / push a small screw-driver on the steel lip of the HDD caddy , you can see the small steel lip near front edge ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNi-die2GJs ) and , once the HDD is disengaged , completely remove / pull out the stock HDD from the laptop computer.Close up the Lenovo ; Put back the bottom cover on Lenovo y580 by sliding it back into place and replacing the two screws. Turn Laptop over in it's correct normal sitting position & open the lid , do not power on yet. Then plug the USB Flash Drive ( with Live MINT 15 on it ) back into Lenovo y580. > at this point , MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE ONLINE via LAN with an Ethernet cable plugged into the Laptop. Now , turn on notebook and go straight into BIOS ( by pressing F2 key once you see the Lenovo logo screen). Once in the BIOS, go to the Boot menu and disable UEFI. Save these settings in BIOS ( press F10 key ) , and reboot the laptop.Now , you should see the GRUB for Mint upon re-boot , or quite possibly you might even boot directly into the Live Mint desktop environment ( my Lenovo y580 booted into the GRUB first , and then i simply followed thru ; click Start Linux Mint , to go to the Live Mint environment ). if you do not get the same thing ( if you only get the Lenovo Logo Screen ) then chances are that you have to go into the boot selection menu by pressing F12 key ( upon seeing the Lenovo Logo screen ). If the Mint Live desktop environment doesn't show up upon re-boot , then power down the laptop , re-insert the USB Flash Drive ( make sure USB drive is seated properly in USB slot ) , make sure you are online via a plugged in Ethernet cable , then power the y580 Laptop back on , and press F12 on the logo screen. Make the appropriate selection in the Boot Selection Menu ( choose USB to boot from ) & save ( F10 ) , and the system should boot into MINT Live desktop environment from the USB Flash Drive. once there , you can begin the install of Linux Mint 15 by clicking on the icon " Install Mint ". Since there is only the mSata Drive installed now in the y580 , there is no need to choose the install disk , it will install there by default.Once you have done the complete Mint 15 install ( and all updates ) , you can ( as i did ) replace / install a storage drive into the now empty HDD bay inside the Lenovo y580 ( in my case i installed a Samsung SSD Pro 512gb ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNi-die2GJs ).Since my install of Linux Mint was done Oct 1 2013 , i think i was the beneficiary of the now updated Olivia Mint 15 Kernel as most everything absolutely seems to work right out of the box , and upon initial install even bluetooth & wifi works. i will update this post further once i have had a chance to test everything a bit more including the graphics cards. thanks to all who were so helpful and offered great advice on the details of this install described above ~ cheZ

a big thank you to Orkultus (Chuck) and his most excellent Linux blog ( http://orkultus.wordpress.com/ ) , i probably would not have even attempted , let alone succeeded , with this project if not for him , and also another great forum member VKen , who was also enormously gracious and helpful as well. i will be checking in at the Orkultus blog again shortly for great tips on setting up Bumblebee related to the Nivida graphics card issues that may present itself on this particular Lenovo y580 Laptop. thanks again to you both ! ~ cheZ